Skip to main content

Sustainment Planning

Sustainment planning focuses on building systems to ensure that improvements continue even after the QI project is complete. Typically, this work involves identifying key stakeholders who will champion this work, a long-term plan for monitoring data, and implementing ways to embed new process into daily practice. Sustainment planning is not only considered at the end of the project but also in the beginning of the planning process to ensure success.

Key Steps

  • Begin with the end of the project in mind and incorporate sustainment into your project plan early. Consider potential risks to sustaining your project and how your team can address them.
  • Build buy-in from your team especially teammates on the frontline. These individuals are ultimately the ones who will drive the work, so it is crucial that they understand their role and overall plan.
  • Strive to make your improvement work the status quo by designing reliable systems and not temporary solutions reliant on individual effort. The goal is to implement workflows that can be easily embedded into daily routines.
  • Standardize and monitor your project work. Develop standard work for teammates and use tools and techniques to track progress (i.e. visual management boards, daily huddles, etc). This step will help reinforce changes and catch any drift away from work.

Resources to Get Started

Read
  • IHI Sustaining Improvement White Paper: This white paper provides a theoretical framework for spreading and sustaining performance improvement initiatives including a high performance management system, key drivers for high performance management at the front line and case studies
  • Spread & Sustainability-How to Guide: This document was created as a part of IHI’s Protecting 5 Million Lives From Harm, Getting Started Kit. This guide provides some practical tips for generating spread and sustainment including best practices and examples of success.
  • Sustainability Guide, National Health Service (NHS): This document provides a framework for sustainment planning
Use
  • Enhancing Project Spread and Sustainability: A classic resource which provides helpful tips, practical advice and a framework for successful spread and sustainment of performance improvement.
  • Sustainment Assessment Tool – Here is an assessment tool that we use at IHQI to coach our project teams on sustainment. The tool is derived from National Health Service (NHS) Sustainability Model and helps identify specific components of sustainment to focus on. 

Related QI Concepts

  • Project Charter – The project charter provides a roadmap for the project and can be a great way to identify potential threats to sustainment early on.
  • Spread – Once a project is sustained over time, it could potentially be spread to other areas.
  • Stakeholder Analysis & Engagement – People drive the work of any project so it is important to consider how you will engage key stakeholders throughout your project and beyond.
  • Visual Management – Managing a visual tool while help your team track the project’s progress and serve as a visual reminder for project goals and processes.